Strawberries
by Cristipotter
Summary: He remembered it too clearly. It hadn't been her fault, really, and if there was anyone to blame... then it was Brock and his damned strawberries. One-shot. AAML. Pokeshipping.


**Hello guys! Here goes another AAML one shot. This one started as a drabble actually, but it got longer, so I guess it is a one shot now. Although, I think it is still pretty short to be a one-shot, but yet too long to be a drabble... eh, well, moving on, I wrote this to relieve some stress from my Marketing Fundamentals test, which took me all day to study for. Thankfully, I think I did pretty well on it! **

**So this one-shot is... a little weird... since I wrote while being pretty stressed out, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! This one goes out to every reviewer and everyone who has included my other one-shots in their favorites list. Thank you so much, guys!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Pokémon... I wouldn't be studying for a stupid Marketing Fundamentals test if I did. I would have a team of professional marketeers working for me instead. **

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**Strawberries**

He remembered it quite clearly. The day he had started seeing Misty differently, that is. He remembered it a little _too_ clearly, in fact, and the mere thought of it still sent shivers down his spine from time to time. It hadn't been her fault, really, and if there was anyone to blame… then Ash had concluded it was Brock and his damned strawberries.

It had started as normal as any day in a forest clearing could; woken up by Misty's screams as a Caterpie found his way on her sleeping bag, a startled Ash pulling out as much PokéBalls as his hands could hold before realizing it was just his red headed friend's fear of bugs, and Brock dazedly asking if Team Rocket had taken Pikachu again.

After the not so out of the ordinary morning commotion, and after Caterpie had been securely taken care of by Ash while Misty hid behind Brock, the three travelers, two of them more than halfway in their teenage years and the oldest about to enter manhood, realized that they had gone out of everything for breakfast unless any of them was willing to eat canned Pokémon food, which was highly unlikely.

"Not even Pikachu eats that thing…" Ash said while rolling up his sleeping bag.

"Not even _Psyduck_" Misty referred to her least favorite and unwillingly caught Pokémon with a glance to her backpack.

Brock offered to search for some fruits, probably some sour wild berries Ash thought bitterly, while the two of them rolled up the tents and got ready to finally arrive at the next city where decent food and comfortable beds awaited them after so long.

"Guys! Look what I found!" their spiky haired friend returned almost an hour later with his once empty basket now filled to the top with something red that Ash realized, as Brock walked closer to them, were big, bright red strawberries piled one on top of the other, almost falling off the basket and making the young trainer's mouth water.

"Ooh," Misty looked up at the basket, also impressed by not only the size but the deep red color of the fruits that had been brought "look at those!"

He didn't say anything, afraid that his accumulated saliva might drip off his mouth if he spoke, so instead he let his own brown eyes widen as Brock placed the basket on the ground, just between him and Misty who were sitting cross legged on the grass across from each other.

Ash extended his hand without hesitation, taking the strawberries without a second thought and stuffing them savagely in his mouth, barely fitting. His stomach had been begging for food for the past hour, so he didn't really care about Misty raising her eyebrow disapprovingly at him or Brock's comment about finishing three people's breakfast all by himself.

He could feel her staring at him for a few seconds, and she held an expression in her face that could mean either disapprove or slight amusement, or maybe even a mix of both. Either way, he didn't pay much attention to the red head and kept eating one whole strawberry after the other, the juice dripping off his chin and fingers.

But then, for a reason, his attention averted from his incontrollable stuffing and now focused on his friend, who had now extended her own hand over the basket, her thin fingers hovering above the fruits, hesitating on which one to choose. Somehow, everything seemed to go in slow motion, or so it felt for Ash whose stomach suddenly jolted for a reason that wasn't really hunger.

She picked out a particularly large one, holding it up from the bright green stalk delicately between her thumb and index finger before her face. Her blue eyes ran along it, examining it as if in detail, wondering just how delicious it would be to taste it. And then, slowly, her blue irises were hidden behind her eyelids and her face got closer and closer to the fruit, her lips parting slightly in the way, her fingers gripping the strawberry more tightly, no longer delicate. She opened her mouth, prepared to bite. The smooth skin of her lips brushed softly against the bright red surface as they opened wide. Her teeth were white, and they bit into the fruit, and the juice that was spilled ran between her pale, slender fingers, leaving a red, sweet trail behind…

His own half-eaten strawberry fell from his hand to the ground with a dull thud.

"Ash, what the _hell_ are you staring at?"

She had done something back then, whether in purpose, he didn't really know what to think. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if she had done _anything_ out of the ordinary, but whatever it was that had happened, he would remember it as the day his hormones finally showed some sign of existence.

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**There it is. Pretty short, I know... but I hope you enjoyed it. So now, drop a little review and light up my pretty stressful week. XD**


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